What became of the 120 explorers who tried to establish England’s
first colony on the north east coast of America has baffled historians
for more than 400 years.
The enterprise took place in the 1580s, was carried out by the English explorer Sir Ralph Lane and was organised and financed by the celebrated voyager Sir Walter Raleigh, who had hoped that the expedition would establish a capital in the New World. (1)
But instead of establishing a permanent English settlement on Roanoke Island a mystery arose; The explorers involved in the voyage disappeared, alongside any evidence of a settlement.
One popular theory behind the explorers’ disappearance is that natives executed them. Although the fate of the colonists has never been determined and what has became known as the infamous ‘Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colony’ has become rooted in American folklore.
This month, researchers working on solving the infamous and ancient ‘lost colony’ mystery have become a step closer to a solution that could be sitting right under a golf course in Bertie County.
Asides being an explorer, White was a distinguished artist and according to the Daily Mail, his map is ‘considerably accurate’, and some of White’s other works are also held in the British Museum. (2)
Brent Lane, a professor of Heritage Education at the University of North Carolina Kenan Institute and a scholar with the First Colony Foundation, was analysing the map and was intrigued by two small patches of paper that were pasted on the map. (3)
Although the patching technique – which involves artists pasting on patches to make alterations to their work – was normal for the time, unbelievably when Lane asked officials at the British Museum if they had ever tried to uncover what was under the patches, they admitted that they hadn’t. (4)
The enterprise took place in the 1580s, was carried out by the English explorer Sir Ralph Lane and was organised and financed by the celebrated voyager Sir Walter Raleigh, who had hoped that the expedition would establish a capital in the New World. (1)
But instead of establishing a permanent English settlement on Roanoke Island a mystery arose; The explorers involved in the voyage disappeared, alongside any evidence of a settlement.
One popular theory behind the explorers’ disappearance is that natives executed them. Although the fate of the colonists has never been determined and what has became known as the infamous ‘Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colony’ has become rooted in American folklore.
This month, researchers working on solving the infamous and ancient ‘lost colony’ mystery have become a step closer to a solution that could be sitting right under a golf course in Bertie County.
Historic Map Offers a Clue
According to the Chicago Tribune, researchers at the British Museum in London, acting at the request of archaeologists and historians in North Carolina, found a symbol on a map that was created by John White, lead explorer of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke Colony expedition.Asides being an explorer, White was a distinguished artist and according to the Daily Mail, his map is ‘considerably accurate’, and some of White’s other works are also held in the British Museum. (2)
Brent Lane, a professor of Heritage Education at the University of North Carolina Kenan Institute and a scholar with the First Colony Foundation, was analysing the map and was intrigued by two small patches of paper that were pasted on the map. (3)
Although the patching technique – which involves artists pasting on patches to make alterations to their work – was normal for the time, unbelievably when Lane asked officials at the British Museum if they had ever tried to uncover what was under the patches, they admitted that they hadn’t. (4)
Sir Walter Raleigh’s Colony Revealed
The Chicago Tribune story went on to describe how when the map was positioned under a table lamp that shined through the paper, to the experts’ astonishment, it showed a large symbol that appeared to show the location of a fort.Unraveling the mystery even further, the site appears to be at the Scotch Hall Preserve, a 900-acre residential and golf community in North Carolina.
According to Lane, the concealed fort symbol on the map is not only likely to be the place Sir Walter Raleigh planned a New World capital, which the famed explorer wanted to name the “Cittie of Raleigh”, but it is also quite possibly the place where the colonists would have settled. (5)
Talking about his excitement when the fort symbol shone through the light on White’s ancient map, Professor Lane told the Independent that he was delighted with the findings:
“I marveled at it,” said Brent Lane. “It was as if Sir Walter Raleigh had sent me an email saying, ‘This was my capital’”.
A 400 Year Old Mystery
Professor Lane is not the only one excited by the new clue to the centuries-old ‘lost colony’ mystery. Sharing the professor’s excitement is the Scotch Hall Preserve community.Following the reports about the new evidence in the 400-year old mystery, Scotch Hall released a press release stating:
“All of us at Scotch Hall Preserve commend Brent Lane of UNC-Chapel Hill, the First Colony Foundation and the British Museum for their work in continuing to unravel the 400-year old mystery of what happened to the Roanoke Island Lost Colonists.” (6)The Scotch Hall Preserve officials went on to say that they understand research will begin in light of the rediscovered John White map, stating that it will be an exciting time for Bertie County and the quest for answers about the Sir Walter Raleigh colonists who mysteriously vanished more than 400 years ago.
Although one mystery does remain, despite the new clue in the case. Why did the British Museum fail to examine what was under the patches on John White’s map in the first place?
References & Image Credits:
(1) Wikipedia
(2) Daily Mail
(3)(4)(5) Chicago Tribune
(6) PR Newswire
(7) Referenced
(8) North Carolina History
(9) British Empire
*****
Gabrielle Pickard is a freelance journalist that seeks out stories mainstream media misses. She endeavours to enlighten readers about news they were never aware existed. GabriellePickard has 113 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
